GLUTE/LOWER BODY TRAINING

[ripitupbaby]

Man went to the gym today to train legs and was feeling a bit sluggish.  Thought to myself on the way there, just take it easy do a few extensions maybe a light press or 2 some hams and call it a day.  Chatted with a friend for a while before I went up stairs, which was good cause i had some food in my stomach.  My friends like you look like you just woke up, lol and he asks what you training i say legs, hes like Ohh god.  I'm like I will be OK once I get going.

Walk up stairs and now is the moment where either you back down or keep pushing forward. IMO this is the moment that separates the posers from the people who do it for real, the time you gotta say to yourself, "what you gonna do?"

Well you guys know what I did, I walked right over to that squat rack and proceded to have the best leg workout I have had in a very long time since injuring myself.  I had not got back up to 405lb squats since the injury and it was time to get back on the horse.  I wanted at least 6 reps with that considering it has been a while.  Got 2 sets of 8 reps with the 405 and had more left but did hold back some.  I just wanted to walk away from that rack uninjured and on a positive note and i did.  I was really happy about it and it felt good to have the bar bending on my back once again 

That's awesome Luv!  I'm glad to hear that you're back in action.  And now you still have lots of time to make more gains. 
I know that sluggish feeling you speak of LOL.  I am getting that alot lately!  Once you are at the gym, though, half the battle is over.  And you are right...that's usually when you pull off some of the best workouts and you end up so glad that you went.   

I squatted yesterday, and I am SO sore today, it's ridiculous.  My squat workouts are a bit different these days, as I am getting ready for the PL meet in about a month.  But this was a very heavy workout for me.  I also did it alone, with no spotter, which was tough.

SQUATS
Tried to go ass to calves, and I used my belt on this workout for all sets after my warmup.  No spotter on any of them!
warmup - barx15, 95x12, 135x7
165 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 4 - I was planning on 5, but the fourth one was horrible...it was a total good morning squat, I fell so far forward and barely pulled it off, and I was seeing stars when I got myself up.
205 x 3 - I couldn't finish the heavy work with that last set, so I managed to get this but it was really a struggle.
155 x 5/5 sets
135 x 5/2 sets

I pretty much just did squats, and then some extra cardio.  OH, and I did four sets of calf raises too.  But after all those sets of squats, my legs were toast, and they are so sore today.  No need to do much else, especially if I am going to deadlift in a few days. 

Squats for me right now are ass to calves, to build up some quad strength (and sweep!).  I'm gonna start widening the stance and practicing specifically for the meet over the next few weeks, so hopefully I will be able to handle some heavier weight.

[Luv2Hurt]

That's awesome Luv!  I'm glad to hear that you're back in action.  And now you still have lots of time to make more gains. 
I know that sluggish feeling you speak of LOL.  I am getting that alot lately!  Once you are at the gym, though, half the battle is over.  And you are right...that's usually when you pull off some of the best workouts and you end up so glad that you went.   

I squatted yesterday, and I am SO sore today, it's ridiculous.  My squat workouts are a bit different these days, as I am getting ready for the PL meet in about a month.  But this was a very heavy workout for me.  I also did it alone, with no spotter, which was tough.

SQUATS
Tried to go ass to calves, and I used my belt on this workout for all sets after my warmup.  No spotter on any of them!
warmup - barx15, 95x12, 135x7
165 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 4 - I was planning on 5, but the fourth one was horrible...it was a total good morning squat, I fell so far forward and barely pulled it off, and I was seeing stars when I got myself up.
205 x 3 - I couldn't finish the heavy work with that last set, so I managed to get this but it was really a struggle.
155 x 5/5 sets
135 x 5/2 sets

I pretty much just did squats, and then some extra cardio.  OH, and I did four sets of calf raises too.  But after all those sets of squats, my legs were toast, and they are so sore today.  No need to do much else, especially if I am going to deadlift in a few days. 

Squats for me right now are ass to calves, to build up some quad strength (and sweep!).  I'm gonna start widening the stance and practicing specifically for the meet over the next few weeks, so hopefully I will be able to handle some heavier weight.

Thanks Rip and nice work on the squats.  Man I dont get that deep on the squats I get maybe a touch below parralel but for PL you have to get down there or it wont count, so keep pushing hard Rip Baby   

Just remember drop that pretty, little butt of yours first when getting in the squat 

[ripitupbaby]

I squatted 245 for 2 the other day, and I was pretty happy about that! 

[Luv2Hurt]

I squatted 245 for 2 the other day, and I was pretty happy about that! 

As you should be Rip!!  Thats a great job and I know you went deep. 

Anybody can half range some squats and claim big #s but they are just fooling themselves.

Funny thing at the gym a couple weeks ago.  I had finished in the squat rack and yeah i was a jerk and did not fully unload the bar.  So this nerdy dude walks up cold to the rack and there is 315 on there.  Im thinking what the hell this guy is gonna do it with no warm up!  He must be pretty bad ass to be warming up with 315.  Looking at the dude you would say 'hell no way"  but I gave him the benifit of the doubt.

Well guy unracks it steps back and procedes to just do a slight break of his knees for each rep, about a 2 inch ROM!!  He does like 10 of these grunting loud on the last 2.  Then the dude had had enough and walks away, I just shake my head.  Later that night he was overheard at the local watering hole telling his buddies how he squated 315 for 15 reps.

[ripitupbaby]

As you should be Rip!!  Thats a great job and I know you went deep. 

Anybody can half range some squats and claim big #s but they are just fooling themselves.

Funny thing at the gym a couple weeks ago.  I had finished in the squat rack and yeah i was a jerk and did not fully unload the bar.  So this nerdy dude walks up cold to the rack and there is 315 on there.  Im thinking what the hell this guy is gonna do it with no warm up!  He must be pretty bad ass to be warming up with 315.  Looking at the dude you would say 'hell no way"  but I gave him the benifit of the doubt.

Well guy unracks it steps back and procedes to just do a slight break of his knees for each rep, about a 2 inch ROM!!  He does like 10 of these grunting loud on the last 2.  Then the dude had had enough and walks away, I just shake my head.  Later that night he was overheard at the local watering hole telling his buddies how he squated 315 for 15 reps.

hahaha some people in the gym are so funny.  We saw something very similar last night with the tricep pushdown plate-loaded thing supersetted with some strange 2-inch ROM latpulldown crunch thing.   

Luv Baby, unload your weights!!   

[Luv2Hurt]

hahaha some people in the gym are so funny.  We saw something very similar last night with the tricep pushdown plate-loaded thing supersetted with some strange 2-inch ROM latpulldown crunch thing.   

Luv Baby, unload your weights!!   

I know I usually do, proper gym etiquette is to strip bar to at least just one 45 per side, at least this was the etiquette in hardcore gyms, where most people start with that weight.  But nowadays gyms its probally proper to take them all off.

LOL if I did i don't think I would have got to see this guy do his thing 

I know man the stuff I see is so freaking funny!!  This other kid about 140lbs, x-small shirt, puff hairdoo was doing monster cable crossovers!!  The dude had 3/4 the stack and was using his whole body to try and get some reps, he was working everything but chest.  So funny here is this person who should be trying to bench 100lbs first but is getting huge with the CCO's

[ripitupbaby]

On a somewhat related note, it's nice to see this thread go over 10,000 views.   

[flexingtonsteele]

On a somewhat related note, it's nice to see this thread go over 10,000 views.   

everyone wants a nice ass rip!

[davidpaul]

I have seen a lot of people cheat on legs lifts. Not going to full depth on leg presses and squats.

[ripitupbaby]

I have seen a lot of people cheat on legs lifts. Not going to full depth on leg presses and squats.

Indeed... alot of people go for the heavier weight, I guess because it looks cool or something, but they only do partial reps and don't get as much out of the exercise as they would if they lightened up the weight and used a full ROM.

[ripitupbaby]

Going to do legs tonight, and I can't say I am thrilled about it.  I am struggling to stay awake today lol..already trying to psyche myself up for this workout!  I'll let you know how it goes!   

[ripitupbaby]

I did a pretty good leg workout last night, especially considering that I did morning cardio AND evening cardio before I trained.  I did 55 minutes on the elliptical, had a small meal, and then hit the gym for legs.  My legs were already tired when I got there, so I decided NOT to squat last night and did some different stuff instead.  Here's what I did (from my recollection):

HAMMER STRENGTH LEG PRESS (SLED)
1 plate per side - 20 reps
2 plates per side - 15 reps (2 sets)
3 plates per side - 10 reps (2 sets)
1 plate per side - 20 reps

SLDL
95 x 15
115 x 12
135 x 8 (2 sets...second one kind of pulled my left hammy, so I lightened up and slowed them down for the final sets)
95 x 10 (2 sets, slow, stretch)

HAMMER STRENGTH LEG EXTENSION
1 plate each side x 12 (3 sets)
25 pounds each side x 10 (3 sets, pause and squeeze at the top of each rep)

HAMMER STRENGTH HORIZONTAL CALF EXTENSION
70 pounds each side x 20 (2 sets)
3 SUPERSETS - Calf Extension and LifeFitness Seated Hammy Curl (12 reps)

HAMMER STRENGTH SEATED CALF RAISE - 3 sets x 15

Left hammy is a bit tight and sore!   

[flexingtonsteele]

bad hammies must be going around, i strained mine the other day and its pretty tight and sore, i even had to skip training hammies yesterday

[ripitupbaby]

I did my first leg workout last night in quite a while!  And guess what?  I'm WEAK.  And now I am SORE.   

Here's what I did:

-One warmup set x 25 on the leg press (sled) with one plate on each side

SQUATS  ASS TO CALVES
barx20
95x15
95x12
125x10
145x5 - with my husband spotting me, I BARELY got these 
95x15

SEATED HAMMY CURL
4 sets x 15

LEG EXTENSION
4 sets x 15, not very heavy, tried to squeeze and hold at the top...OUCH!

OUTER THIGH
I don't know what possessed me.  I did 2 sets x 25

I also did some ab work.   

It's going to take me a little while to get back into the swing of things with the leg workouts.  I am hoping to be able to go heavier next week.  I am lighter than I used to be, and I am still going deep, but I was surprised at how hard that set of 145 was.  I'm hoping to be able to get back up to 155 or 165 x 5 before I start really dieting hard again.

[Benny B]

I did my first leg workout last night in quite a while!  And guess what?  I'm WEAK.  And now I am SORE.   

Here's what I did:

-One warmup set x 25 on the leg press (sled) with one plate on each side

SQUATS  ASS TO CALVES
barx20
95x15
95x12
125x10
145x5 - with my husband spotting me, I BARELY got these 
95x15

SEATED HAMMY CURL
4 sets x 15

LEG EXTENSION
4 sets x 15, not very heavy, tried to squeeze and hold at the top...OUCH!

OUTER THIGH
I don't know what possessed me.  I did 2 sets x 25

I also did some ab work.   

It's going to take me a little while to get back into the swing of things with the leg workouts.  I am hoping to be able to go heavier next week.  I am lighter than I used to be, and I am still going deep, but I was surprised at how hard that set of 145 was.  I'm hoping to be able to get back up to 155 or 165 x 5 before I start really dieting hard again.

Well, I am offering my services to massage your FULLY NUDE glutes and inner thighs to help relieve the soreness. Send me a PM. 

[ripitupbaby]

Well, I am offering my services to massage your FULLY NUDE glutes and inner thighs to help relieve the soreness. Send me a PM. 

LOL  I KNEW I could count on you!!   

[Luv2Hurt]

I did my first leg workout last night in quite a while!  And guess what?  I'm WEAK.  And now I am SORE.   

Here's what I did:

-One warmup set x 25 on the leg press (sled) with one plate on each side

SQUATS  ASS TO CALVES
barx20
95x15
95x12
125x10
145x5 - with my husband spotting me, I BARELY got these 
95x15

SEATED HAMMY CURL
4 sets x 15

LEG EXTENSION
4 sets x 15, not very heavy, tried to squeeze and hold at the top...OUCH!

OUTER THIGH
I don't know what possessed me.  I did 2 sets x 25

I also did some ab work.   

It's going to take me a little while to get back into the swing of things with the leg workouts.  I am hoping to be able to go heavier next week.  I am lighter than I used to be, and I am still going deep, but I was surprised at how hard that set of 145 was.  I'm hoping to be able to get back up to 155 or 165 x 5 before I start really dieting hard again.

Cool the deep squats really pack on the leg mass, as you have seen Rip 

Rip is that a typical workout?  I see the volume is kind of low, just squats and one ham exercise.

I do relatively low sets for quads too about 12, which is less than I would do for back or chest    Since my quads have done well with this maybe I should do less for the upperbody I have wondered?

Whenever I do legs it seems the sets of squats or leg presses, about 5 sets usually are really the ones that matter and the rest is just fluff, LOL  So maybe just doing the big growth stuff is plenty?

[ripitupbaby]

Cool the deep squats really pack on the leg mass, as you have seen Rip 

Rip is that a typical workout?  I see the volume is kind of low, just squats and one ham exercise.

I do relatively low sets for quads too about 12, which is less than I would do for back or chest    Since my quads have done well with this maybe I should do less for the upperbody I have wondered?

Whenever I do legs it seems the sets of squats or leg presses, about 5 sets usually are really the ones that matter and the rest is just fluff, LOL  So maybe just doing the big growth stuff is plenty?

I do the same thing, and I wonder the same thing about my upper body.  When I do my bench and deadlift training, the volume is pretty low too, and I did pack on a bit of size in my chest and shoulders with this approach.  However, when I started the more BB-style approach, the volume on the upper body increased quite a bit.  So I am really not sure. 

For bodybuilding, the workout I did two days ago (above) would be what I would consider a relatively short lower body workout.  I was a bit pressed for time, and with it being my first "real" leg workout in a few weeks, I didn't want to push it too hard.  I also have some photo shoots this weekend and didn't want to be totally crippled with my legs smoothed over.  Ideally, I would have added 3-4 sets of SLDLs, perhaps a couple sets of walking lunges (which I almost did but didn't want to get too sore), and 5-6 sets of calf exercises.  That would be a more complete lower body workout.

I still believe with the lower body that one good compound exercise like squats or presses pretty much does the trick, but I would go 6-8 sets, and then add calf work.

[ripitupbaby]

OK legs last night.  I'm still pretty weak but I don't feel bad at this point.  Tried to go higher rep again (probably going to stay higher rep right through the next 10 weeks), but added more volume.

Legs are already sore this morning!

SQUATS - Ass to calves! barx20, 95x15 (2 sets, not easy!), 135x7 (3 sets...holy shit that was hard!)
Leg Extensions - 4 sets, 12-15 reps, relatively slow and squeeze at the top
Lying Hammy Curls - 4 sets, 12-15 reps, relatively slow and squeeze at the top
Calf Extension Machine - 3 sets, 15-20 reps. 
Last two sets of calf extensions were supersetted with walking lunges - 30 lb. barbell, about 15 on each leg
Seated Hammy Curl - 3 sets, 12-15 reps.  Supersetted with unweighted calf raises one leg at a time.
 
Then I did AB work... 5 sets 15-20 on the Nautilus crunch machine, and 5 sets of 10 leglifts in that chair thing.  I hate abs.   

[flexingtonsteele]

Did my first leg workout since my contest this past tuesday.

Went like this......Now just to let u know, im not going to list the weight because it wasnt much. For the next 4-6 weeks im going to start from the bottom and work my way up on all my exercises. Really focusing on squeezing hard and working on my mind to muscle connection.

1. Lying Leg Curl- 4 sets of 9-12 reps
2. Leg Press ( Wide Stance, low on platform ) - 4 sets of 10-12 reps. ( just used my quads contractions to move the weight )
3. Smith Close Stance squat- 3 sets of 12. All I did was squeeze the whole way down and the whole way up. WOW my quads were pumped.
4. Walking Lunge- Started with bodyweight and worked my way up to a light bb. Got a deep stretch and SQUEEZED all the way up. WOW!!!
5. Db SLDL- Slow eccentric getting a great stretch with a explosive concentric. 3 sets of 10
6. Donkey Calf Raise- 3 sets of 9-12. Deep Stretch then hard contraction.

WOW this was a great workout, just didnt worry about the weight and squeezed HARD as I could on everything. It was a nice change of pace. Im doing this on all my workouts for the next few weeks, and I think ill get some new muscle from it, since ive never trained like this before.

Oh yea finished with 25 minutes on the stairclimber.

[Luv2Hurt]

Did my first leg workout since my contest this past tuesday.

Went like this......Now just to let u know, im not going to list the weight because it wasnt much. For the next 4-6 weeks im going to start from the bottom and work my way up on all my exercises. Really focusing on squeezing hard and working on my mind to muscle connection.

1. Lying Leg Curl- 4 sets of 9-12 reps
2. Leg Press ( Wide Stance, low on platform ) - 4 sets of 10-12 reps. ( just used my quads contractions to move the weight )
3. Smith Close Stance squat- 3 sets of 12. All I did was squeeze the whole way down and the whole way up. WOW my quads were pumped.
4. Walking Lunge- Started with bodyweight and worked my way up to a light bb. Got a deep stretch and SQUEEZED all the way up. WOW!!!
5. Db SLDL- Slow eccentric getting a great stretch with a explosive concentric. 3 sets of 10
6. Donkey Calf Raise- 3 sets of 9-12. Deep Stretch then hard contraction.

WOW this was a great workout, just didnt worry about the weight and squeezed HARD as I could on everything. It was a nice change of pace. Im doing this on all my workouts for the next few weeks, and I think ill get some new muscle from it, since ive never trained like this before.

Oh yea finished with 25 minutes on the stairclimber.

Nice workout, I must have missed you doing a show, how did it go? And congrats for doing it.

[flexingtonsteele]

Nice workout, I must have missed you doing a show, how did it go? And congrats for doing it.

show went good, the dieting was tough and changed my life for the better.

I WILL NEVER BE SKINNY FAT AGAIN

[ripitupbaby]

Good stuff Flex... congrats again!  Enjoy the rebound and make the most of it. 

I did legs last night too, and I hurt my lower back again!   

I posted my leg workout in my contest prep thread. 

[flexingtonsteele]

Good stuff Flex... congrats again!  Enjoy the rebound and make the most of it. 

I did legs last night too, and I hurt my lower back again!  

I posted my leg workout in my contest prep thread. 

Get better Lori

And I am enjoying the rebound im up 15lbs lol, but look pretty much the same with a tiny bit of water covering some stuff. But I look virtually the same !

[Luv2Hurt]

Did legs the other day and have been back to squating after taking a break.  But did squats 2 leg days in a row.  First squat workout back the weights felt kind of heavy but still pushed hard.  The second one the weights were feeling nice.  Best set was 425lbs for a fairly easy set of 10 and another set of 8 with that, I was suprised!  I had not gone over 405 for about a year but it was feeling so good had to try a little more, looking back I should have jumped up more in weight for that set.

I have a goal of squating 5 plates this winter for a set of 4-6, raw just a belt.  There is a mental block that keeps me from moving up to this, mainly it is a fear of injury.

Rest of the workout, the usual fluff.